With the internet taking over seamlessly and diffusing the virtual borders, can we even imagine the transactional aspect of marketing without social media? The social media market goes beyond the borders of India and China put together, which, nobody can afford to lose. Organizations, therefore, are investing on social media marketing which is no more about branding alone but also about business development. But not every organization is reaping a return on investment as the campaigns on social media fail to engage the consumers. To help you set the right tone for your social media marketing, follow these 5 effective social media best practices:

Set smart goals and plan using a Social Media Calendar

: The beginning point of any marketing campaign is to know your goals and objectives which includes building brand awareness with a positive perception of your business, gaining new clientele by driving traffic to your company’s website, strengthening customer services by engaging potential consumers or helping existing ones with products and services and finally, increasing engagement by interacting with fans and followers. But that’s not all for you ought to stick to a social media schedule which is impossible to organize without a calendar. Not only does planning save time but it also reduces time wasted in searching for content. A calendar also holds people accountable by keeping them aware of time frames and deadlines.

Select the appropriate channels and avoid verbosity

: Every enterprise doesn’t need social networking in order to be promoted. If you are considering a certain platform as the right fit for your business, begin reviewing the purpose and robustness of each platform. Analyse what your business is trying to achieve through social media, or whether a certain platform can help achieve those goals or review if the audience expects your to be on a given platform. It is intelligible to weigh the objectives against the strengths of each platform. Since the scantiest resource is time, people do not have the adequate time to read lengthy discourse and, instead, want to consume concise, brief and striking content for brevity is the soul of wit. The popularity of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn lies in its brevity and character limitation. The fewer the character, the more the engagement.

Invest in creativity and focus on quality

The power of creative visual content is cannot be underestimated. Having a platter of good content for consumer consumption provides a balance and ensures that people do not get bored of identical homogenous posts. It is also advisable to avoid posting anything simply for the sake of it, thereby, to lay more emphasis on quality over quantity. Every single post should, ultimately, connect to a broader goal. Videos, infographics, tutorials and blog posts are a few examples of highly shareable and consumable content. Monitoring the relevant themes and topics bypasses the tendency of repetition. Targeted campaigns that incentivises the fan-base ensures the retention of engagement.

Support the algorithmic changes

: Post the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as the advertisement domains go strict and the organic reach of the pages further plummets, social media networks are under pressure to ensure that platforms remain safe and not prone to misuse by advertisers. While the scrutiny is likely to continue, marketers must be creative in order to be discovered. The best way to get exposure on social media is by creating high-quality personalized content that the audience can relate to.

Conceive a social media crisis plan and stick to ethics

It is imperative that the social media marketing remains honest with its audience and their is no deception involved. Since negative comments and critical feedback is unavoidable, it is important to take a professional stand. And as you progress in your social media marketing plan, ensure to document the strategy with key statistics, key performance indicators, content calendar and guidelines which will aid in bringing the desired results. But one faulty step is also capable of sending your organization into a social nightmare, so have a disaster guide in place that can mitigate a long-term damage. Have an established crisis management plan with defined tasks and responsibilities prepared.

For each aspect of social media community management, it is crucial to gauge how fans respond to your efforts. A prime practice for community management is to maintain a log of what has worked and what hasn’t.

About author

Saurabh Kumar

A marketing enthusiast with a fascination for technology, an interest in tinkering with data and systems, and 4+ years of experience at ebookers, Saurabh Kumar co-founded Envigo, a digital marketing agency, in the year 2007. His passion for Digital Marketing led him to launch a data-driven digital marketing solutions agency.